Friday, November 06, 2009

Like Crack On A Chipstack

Given recent developments in my family situation and schedule...well, playing MTTs like I've always enjoyed just doesn't seem to fit any more. These days, it's work all day, go to the Good Doctor Mondo's rehabilitation hospital fifty miles away for a few hours, and then finally get home around 9pm or so at night. This is my daily life, at present, and everything else has to work around that schedule.

But there's got to be something more than that, right? How to squeeze in a bit of poker, at least in the couple hours at home between dragging my hang-dog ass in the door, and merciful sleep? How to feed that jones and yet still be able to maintain responsibilities? How to stand being in that outsized house by myself at night, restless at bitter at one's lot in life, and find a way to squeeze in the one solitary activity that pushes all that sad bastard crap aside for a while?

Well, I found the answer over at PokerStars. 180 man, $3.30r turbo SNGs. That's right, rebuy SNGs. Woohoo, with lots of value. Damn, the whole things are over in just over two hours. Of course, variance is high. I manage to play one, sometimes two a night (if they register fast enough), and still get decent sleep. So far, they're not half terrible bankroll builders, as long as you have the discipline to rebuy upfront and not chase a mincash by rebuying 3-4 times afterwards. Of course, always, always take the addon.

Now, this is an entirely different form of poker for me, in some respects, because most players are already into shove-or-fold mode within an hour of the tournament. I've missed out a couple of good late position shove opportunities, probably because of not being particularly well-versed in ICM. But I've managed to cash often enough to make a tiny bit of scratch, and a couple final table appearances haven't hurt.

Typically, I'm in these for only $9 (once in a while I'll do a second rebuy to top off just before the end of the rebuy period, if I'm low enough). And either way, it feels like getting a lot of poker for the money because even when I don't cash, I'm going out anywhere from, say, 25th to 40th place, and outlasting enough of the field for it to truly be bedtime at the end.

Played one of these last night, and finished 3rd, for a nice chunk of change. Sadly, went out when AT couldn't fade A9, when winning that hand would have given me and the chipleader equal stacks, and leaving villian with about one BB. Even going out 2nd would have been worth another one-fiddy. Hope to actually take one of these down, it's been a while since I've been able to get heads-up in a relatively decent sized field.

At least it's helping me overcome the life-tilt that has been Bodog's 11:30pm EST $2k guarantee turbo. Won some nice stakes in that tourney over time, but I swear I've been knocked out early the last ten or so times I've played this thing. In fact, my Bodog $Ts are completely gone, so I'm spending a lot less time on that site. Their RNG hates me these days with a passion in a way I'm not sure even Fraud Tilt Poker's ever had for me.

May you find the felt to your liking.

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